A/N: Hi everyone! Okay so this is an idea I had several weeks ago that just nagged me until I wrote it out.

Quick explanation:

This story takes place in present Season 6 and not to give the story away or anything but another big difference from canon is that this is Bamon centred. I will tell the tale of how they first met (yup, she may or may not have known him before he first came into Mystic Falls) and what the blurb means when it states that he came back to find her. Essentially, this story is about eternal love irrespective of where they are, who they are with, what they remember and whether destiny can draw them back together.

Disclaimer: Contains a lot of angst. You have been warned!

Don't let it fall to pieces
I don't wanna know what life is
Without the sound of your love
Moving through me now
And don't let that be a reason
For these walls to fall apart
Here beats my hopeful heart for you, for you

- Hopeful Heart by Jason Walker

Chapter One (Present day)

Bonnie woke from her nightmare with a small shriek and bolted upright, her heart slamming against her ribcage violently. Placing her small hand against her beating heart, she lay back down in the bed and begun tossing and turning, her breath releasing in short, small bursts as her mind wandered relentlessly. It had almost been three weeks since she'd slept properly and she was beginning to feel as if she was going crazy. Kicking off her duvet in annoyance, she rolled to her back and allowed her breathing to steady itself. Sighing, she sat upright and slipped her feet into her slippers before leaving her designated room in the Salvatore mansion where she had been staying for the past few days in light of the nightmares she'd been having. The nightmares were always the same yet somehow managed to affect her in the exact same manner. Pushing her hand through her messy hair, she padded downstairs where she immediately headed to the kitchen. Yawning, she opened the door with her foot before slipping inside.

"Bonnie?"

Letting out a small yelp of surprise, she spun around and found Damon standing behind her topless with his midnight black hair sticking up in spikes. He looked incredible which should be illegal and served to annoy her that she even noticed that about him. Blood rushed to her face and she guiltily dragged her eyes from his delicious torso back to his face and prayed he didn't notice her discomfort. Taking in the mischievous smirk which tugged at his lips – she knew he'd noticed.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked her with a small yawn, staring at her through exhausted eyes.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied making her way to the breakfast bar and taking a seat before grabbing the bottle of Whiskey she'd left on the counter from the night before.

She opened the bottle and lifted it to take a swig when it was snatched out of her hands before she could blink. Damn his supernatural speed, she cursed throwing him a dangerous glare.

"Seriously?"

"You drink too much," he said with an accusatory tone closing the lid on the bottle and placing it back on the counter far away from her reach.

He was right, she did drink a lot and it was a habit she had picked up from 1994. Drinking her sorrows was the only thing she could do in order to numb her thoughts and feelings and that was precisely what she wanted to do right now. She wanted to forget the pain, the torture, the loss and the guilt which haunted her every moment she closed her eyes.

"Look who's talking," she scoffed defensively fighting to keep her gaze on his face and not his exposed lower half. Why on earth couldn't he have slipped on a shirt?

"I'm a vampire, so technically I'm already dead. Do you want to keep that liver of yours intact, Bon?" he retorted sitting across from her.

She rolled her eyes at him and placed her elbows on the counter fighting to keep the heavy eyelids which were drawing together open. She was tired of nightmares and reliving every moment of torture she went through in the prison world. Sitting across from Damon, she strangely felt a sense of security and peace which merely confused her. Yes, they had grown closer together but what on earth was this tether she felt drawing her closer to him?

"Did you have a nightmare again?" he asked softly interrupting her thoughts.

She looked up to find his piercing blue eyes which were filled with concern and something unknown trained on her.

"Yup."

She averted her gaze and fixated it on her arms, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny of his eyes.

"When was the last time you slept properly?"

"Does it matter?" she protested.

"Bon."

"Fine! I haven't slept properly since I've came back, okay. Every time I close my eyes I feel like I'm back there again and I can't do it," she told him honestly. "Not to mention the fact that I have to see your ugly face every day. Now do you understand why I have to drink?" she added more lightly.

Damon looked deep in thought for a brief moment, his silence surprising her. He was a lot of things, but he was never quiet.

"Right. Come on," he told her firmly, drawing her back from her own thoughts.

He stood upright and walked towards the door turning to beckon her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she asked keeping her butt firmly glued to her seat. There was no way she was going to blindly follow him into whatever spontaneous crazy thing he could have planned.

"To sleep," he told her as if she were braindead.

"I'm not sleeping with you," she scoffed her top lip curling with disgust. They had grown close, but not that close.

"You wish," he smirked with a laugh. "Come on now, I'm tired."

She jumped off her barstool and gingerly followed him out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. Holding her hands outwards in order to not bump into anything and damage herself permanently, she tried to manoeuvre herself through the dark cursing Damon for not realising that she didn't have vampire vision. Was there even such a thing? Stumbling on one of the top stairs, she let out a small curse and heard him laugh from further ahead. Bastard.

He led them through the narrow dark corridor and as they moved past his bedroom she stopped abruptly.

"Psst!"

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"I don't care what you have planned but you can start by grabbing a shirt," she instructed firmly.

"Scared you might not be able to control yourself?" he teased and even though it was dark, she could tell from the tone of his voice that he was smiling.

"Just grab a damn shirt," she repeated rolling her eyes out of habit.

He disappeared into his room for several minutes and when he reappeared, she could see the faint outlines of a t-shirt. Great!

"Happy?"

"Mmm-hmm."

She followed him into the bedroom she had become to know as her own and flickered the light on. Glancing at the room, it was exactly how she'd left it with the duvet sprawled messily across the large Californian King bed.

"What now?"

He hummed a faint tune as he approached the cabinet which was beside her bed and pulled the top drawer open. Grabbing Monopoly, he dumped it on the floor and sat down beside it cross legged and patted the space opposite him. It was a game they'd played whilst they'd been stuck in 1994 to help them forget everything around them, but she genuinely didn't think it'd help it her nightmares now.

"Sit."

Allowing the small smile which tugged at her lips to escape, she took a seat across from him and began playing the game. While they played, she forced herself to ignore the swell in her chest she felt whenever she looked at him. There was no chance she would allow – or consider the fact that what she may feel for Damon bypassed platonic feelings. The mere thought disgusted her, she would never allow herself to develop feelings for her best friend's boyfriend irrespective of how strong the pull she felt towards him was. Dismissing her thoughts, she focused on playing the game and winning.

Well into their second game, Bonnie had made herself comfortable on the floor and was laying on her stomach when exhaustion began seeping its way in again. Whilst she was in the middle of trash talking him, she felt her heavy eyelids begin to drool and allowed herself to succumb to it instead of fighting it. She was too tired to care whether or not the nightmare came again. Closing her eyes, she heard Damon's footsteps near her and when she felt his hands move underneath her and lift her into his arms, she lost her breath completely. He moved slowly and carefully and laid her down on the bed delicately. Slipping off her slippers tenderly, he lifted her legs and covered her with the duvet.

"Damon?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

With that, the light flickered off and his footsteps grew distant. When she heard the squeak of the couch in the corner of the room, she forced one eye open and saw him cramping his long frame into it. Too tired to order him into his own room, she sunk back into the pillows with a resigned sigh and smiled to herself as she drifted off to a blissful sleep.

A/N: Very excited about this story so please leave me reviews to let me know whether you're interested in reading this fic and what you thought about it.